Brussels: “Limited Progress” Reported in Bosnia

The Commission’s annual “Progress Report”, a 64-page document widely viewed as a barometer of progress for Balkan countries, exposes a litany of weaknesses in virtually all aspects of the country’s political, economic and social spectrum.

Although officially a potential candidate for EU membership, the most impoverished country in the Balkans appears to have made limited progress in some of the most basic areas of governance.

One year after the October 2010 general elections, political bickering and a refusal from the country’s six main leaders to agree on who should lead the country’s Council of Ministers – an executive branch of governance akin to the UK parliament- has brought essential reforms to a virtual standstill.

The Commission’s report states that: “the failure of leaders to reach a political agreement on the formation of authorities has hampered Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress on much-needed reforms, in particular on the harmonisation of the Constitution with the European Convention on Human Rights and the adoption of State Aid law at state level.”

It reports that “limited progress” has been made in the areas of government, public administration reform, judicial reform, the tackling of corruption, the prison system, female participation in labour markets and conditions for the socially vulnerable and people with disabilities.

Bosnia remains a transit country for international trafficking narcotics, the report reveals, saying that little progress has been made to fight against this or against the organised crime networks which permeate the country.

As the country’s economy continues to flounder, so too has foreign direct investment, FDI, – a potential lifeline for developing countries seeking to make necessary reforms.

According to the Commission, FDI has plummeted from €1.5 billion in 2007 to just €174 million last year. The average monthly wage in the country is just 798 BAM (€408) and only one in five people owns a car.

In spite of numerous challenges, the report does show signs of improvement.

In December 2010, visa liberalisation for citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted by the European Parliament and Council. This greatly improved the ability of citizens to travel freely in the Schengen area of Europe provided they hold a biometric passport.

Overall, the Commission notes, “the economy is slowly gathering steam after the 2009 recession”, although it cautions that “recovery is fragile”. The positive real growth rate stood at 0.7 per cent in 2010 and the country’s current account deficit fell from 6.2 per cent of GDP in 2009 to 5.6 per cent in 2010.

Civil and political rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina are respected overall and the Commission reports that there have been improvements in the administrative resources for the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, FBiH, and the Republika Rpska, RS, National Assembly.

The FBiH and RS are the two semi-autonomous entities that were established by the Dayton Peace Agreement following the 1992-1995 civil war.